Virgil Abloh Stages His First Louis Vuitton Show in Paris

Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and Bella Hadid were among those to sit on the front row.

by Amy de Klerk

Today Virgil Abloh staged his first fashion show for Louis Vuitton in Paris. The designer – who was named artistic director of menswear back in March, replacing Kim Jones – showed the spring/summer 2019 collection to a whole host of famous friends including Rihanna, Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, Naomi Campbell and Bella Hadid.

A number of the women on the front row were wearing Abloh’s new collection in the form of colourful utilitarian jackets, boiler suits and bum bags.

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

When Abloh took his bow, there was an emotional moment between him and West – who have been friends and collaborators for years, having first interned together at Fendi. The two men were seen crying and hugging one another as the rest of the crowd cheered the collection.

a beautiful moment between Virgil Abloh and Kanye West at his first Louis Vuitton show #LVMenSS19

Following the show, Abloh shared a moving picture onto his Instagram account of him walking down the catwalk with his head in his hands. He wrote simply: “You can do it too.”

Abloh – who is the first African American artistic director at Louis Vuitton – is also the creative director of Off-White, a brand he launched in 2012 and for which he’s won much critical acclaim as well as commercial success. He’s widely credited with making urban streetwear desirable in the luxury fashion market.